The Benevolence of the Olympics
I could never approve of China’s persecution and oppressive policies towards the people of Tibet. I can’t help but feel invigorated by most of the protests all over the world showing support for the people of Tibet, and condemning China’s forceful domination over what the Dalai Lama and others consider to be a sovereign nation. I, too, think that the military occupation should end, and that Tibet should be treated as a free and sovereign nation.
But there is a great injustice occurring to a similar sanctuary by the same protesters.
The lighting of the Summer Olympic torch every four years in Athens, Greece, represents one of the most noble aspirations of man, and the protests that have occurred this year, have seized the publicity that comes with the journey that the Torch undergoes.
Nearly as soon as the Torch was lit, a protester ran behind a Chinese Olympic delegation with a flag depicting the five rings of the Olympic Games as handcuffs.
Since then, protests have interrupted the relay of the torch in Paris, London, San Francisco, Seoul, and Nagano.
It isn’t that I think that global attention should not be fixated on the gross mistreatment of the Tibetans. But these protests tend to sacrifice the sanctity of the Olympic Athletic Competition.
In ancient Greece, a truce occurred before and during the Olympic Games. It was called “ekecheiria” which means “a holding of hands”. All wars were suspended to allow athletes and spectators free travel to and from the Games, without fear of persecution.
Although China’s poor record of promoting civil and human rights is widely known, the celebration of the Olympics has nothing to do with that. The Olympic Games represent that through Athletic Competition, people are held to the standard that there is more honor in defeating a man in sport, than in publicly disgracing him or killing him.
Therefore the relay of the Olympic torch should not be infringed upon by anyone seeking to make a political statement. Although the actions of China can, and should be publicly protested, the Olympic Torch should not be in the crossfire of such engagements.
It represents something far too moral to be used as a stepping stone for political dissent. Any protest of the Olympic Torch is comparable to the harassment of an innocent man to publicize the actions of a killer. The Torch, itself, too greatly symbolizes the solution, not the problem.
“In no uncertain terms I must reproach you, both sides, and rightly. Don't you share a cup at common altars, for common gods, like brothers, at the Olympic games” – Aristophanes “Lysistrata”
Protest the treatment of the Tibetans. Protest China’s human rights record. Protest China’s persecution of the Dalai Lama. But understand that there exists no reason to protest the free and noble passage of the Olympic Torch.